Chapter 42 5. Make a plan to lure the snake out of the hole

Shi Xiangzhen, the leader of the Xiangxiang Army, is the elder brother of Yiwang Shi Dakai. He is 28 years old this year. He looks exactly like Yiwang. He is handsome and majestic. He is an outstanding young general in the Taiping Army. His three lieutenants are all brave and loyal. Thirty thousand soldiers are capable of fighting.This is a real hero.This time, going south through Dongting, in addition to obeying the overall strategic deployment of the Western Expedition, there is another purpose, which is to avenge the Western King Xiao Chaogui who died in the battle under the city of Changsha.

On the day when Zeng Guofan left Hengzhou, Shi Xiangzhen led 30,000 soldiers and captured Yuezhou Prefecture in one fell swoop. Jia Hengchun, the magistrate, abandoned the city and fled.Then Huarong, Xiangyin and other counties were conquered one after another.Most of the entire northern part of Hunan is under the control of the Zhengxiang Army. The three Zhou Guoyu brothers who had been hiding in Lianyunchu for more than half a year and the surviving backbone of No. 60 and 70 Zhengyi Hall learned from their failures and understood that the water in the stream can only make waves when it flows into the river. When they heard The Taiping Army returned to Hunan. After news of the turmoil in northern Hunan, they unanimously decided to defect to the Taiping Army, accept the leadership of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and join the God Worship Association.Shi Xiangzhen, Luo Gangang and others enthusiastically accepted these brothers who had lost their way and returned home, and invited Zhou Guoyu to join the leadership of the Hunan Army.

Zhou Guoyu was very familiar with the terrain in northern Hunan, and pointed out that Yanglousi, at the junction of Hunan and Hubei, had a steep terrain and it was advisable to lay an ambush here.Shi Xiangzhen readily accepted this suggestion, and drew up a battle plan based on it. Half a year after leaving Changsha, Zeng Guofan, who commanded about 20,000 people on land and water, including his husband, landed at Zhuzhangdu Wharf and entered Changsha City again from Xiaoximen. on occasion.Hunan Governor Luo Bingzhang had to rely on this force. He personally led dozens of civil and military officials to greet him outside Xiaoximen. Only Bao Qibao used the excuse of military emergency.The imperial court finally approved Zeng Guofan's request to replace Qingde with Taqibu as the deputy general of the Changsha Association. Bao Qibao thought it was a major blow to him.When he received the copy of the edict in Zhouci, Xiangtan the day before, Zeng Guofan also confirmed that this was a big victory for him in the contest with Bao Qibao.This victory greatly dilutes the shadow of being demoted to two levels. "After all, the emperor still believes in me." Zeng Guofan thought to himself.

After only staying in Changsha for two days, Zeng Guofan led Xiangyong to march to Yuezhou by water and land respectively.It is only thirty miles away from the city. According to Tanma Bao, the 30,000 long hairs in Yuezhou City have rolled up their flags and left the city.Zeng Guofan and his party entered Yuezhou City without bloodshed.What a hit!All Xiangyong are very happy. In the early morning of the next day, the vanguards Wang Chi and Li Xubin took a thousand brave men and marched excitedly along the road from Yuezhou to Wuchang. During the two-day march, they did not see half of the Hunan army, so they must have fled in anticipation!From Wang Chi, Li Xubin to every Yong Ding, everyone sees it this way.That night, they camped in Yanglousi, and they didn't even send anyone to patrol at night.In the middle of the night, Luo Gang and Zhou Guoyu rushed out of the surrounding mountains with 5,000 conscripts from Hunan. Holding lanterns, torches, knives and guns, they rushed towards Yanglousi town shouting.Xiangyong was unprepared and was awakened in his sleep. Many people couldn't even find their clothes and pants. Wang Chi and Li Xubin didn't dare to fight, and hurriedly led their troops to flee south, leaving one or two hundred corpses in Yanglousi.

At this time, Shi Xiangzhen, Zeng Tianyang, and Lin Shaozhang, who were ambushing near Yuezhou City, led 25,000 troops to conquer Hunan, and entered Yuezhou City again at night. Zhou Guocai, Zhou Guoxian and other 300 people who were hiding in the city were joined With their cooperation, they set fire to the house, killed Guan Yong who guarded the city gate, and opened the city gate.Xiang Yong, who was stationed in the city, did not guard against this move, and rushed to the battle. After a few hits, they all fled.Under the protection of Kang Fu, Zeng Guofan fled out of the city in a hurry. Fortunately, Peng Yulin and Yang Zaifu, who were staying on Dongting Lake, heard that there were changes in the city, and hurriedly led the navy to come to meet them.Zeng Guofan boarded the boat in a panic and ran towards Changsha.Near the antlers, they met Wang Chi and Li Xubin, who were defeated from the Yanglou Division. The Xiangyong, water and land troops fled for their lives, and did not catch their breath until they passed Xiangyin.

When he was about to arrive in Changsha, Zeng Guofan was embarrassed to enter the city, so he moored the boat near Shuiluzhou, and Lu Yong camped outside the territory.Counting the number of people, there were more than 500 dead and scattered, and more than ten sentry officers and post chiefs were also lost.Although Zeng Guofan was annoyed, he was not discouraged.He summed up the lesson: failure lies in arrogance and underestimation of the enemy.Zeng Guofan ignored the gossip in the official circles in the city, and reorganized his team outside the city, and next time he will fight against the Zhengxiang Army.

In the yamen of the former magistrate in Yuezhou City, the leaders of the Hunan Army were eating and drinking, celebrating the first victory in the war with Xiangyong.Zhou Guoyu said: "It's a pity that the two demon heads Wang Chi and Li Xubin escaped. If they are caught, their hearts and livers must be taken out to sacrifice to the dead brothers." Shi Xiangzhen said: "This old thief Zeng Guofan is treacherous. If he goes out of the city with Wang Chi and others, this time he will be a teacher and leader." Lin Shaozhang said: "I heard that Zeng Guofan's subordinates are all led by a group of scholars. No wonder I frightened their shit out of them with one move of the sword. We will fight a few more battles in the future, let their entire army die in Hunan, and ensure that the siege of Wuchang will not be punished." interference."

Luo Gang has not opened his mouth.He has been in Hunan for many years and is familiar with the terrain and the people of Hunan.At the beginning of entering Hunan, Shi Xiangzhen entrusted him with more ideas on military decision-making.After everyone's excitement calmed down a bit, he explained a plan he had conceived in the past few days: "The victory in this initial confrontation with Xiangyong is a great encouragement to the whole army. However, I think Zeng Guofan and others People are not stupid, and this failure will also teach them a lesson. We must be cautious when dealing with this old thief."

Shi Xiangzhen deeply agreed with Luo Dagang's words: "Arrogant soldiers are bound to be defeated. What Dagang said is right, we must warn the soldiers not to be proud of this victory." "Now, Zeng Guofan has retreated to Changsha." Luo Dagang continued: "We are going to form a siege around Changsha. The first city immediately south of Changsha is Xiangtan. Xiangtan is rich in products, and the food in the city is piled up like a mountain. Only 500 people from the Changsha Xieyou Battalion are stationed there, and the force is very weak.Moreover, Xiangtan is located at the key point of water and land. Occupying Xiangtan will not only get food and wages, suppress Changsha, but also prevent Zeng Yaotou from fleeing south to Hengzhou. "

"The outline is a good idea. Occupying Xiangtan is like closing the South Gate." Zhou Guoyu agreed with this plan. Shi Xiangzhen also nodded and said, "Very good, you can continue." Luo Dagang said: "After taking Xiangtan with a partial division, the army will continue to move south, approaching Changsha, and near Changsha, we will fight to the death with Zeng Yaotou." Shi Xiangzhen said: "After the defeat of Zeng Yaotou, he entered Changsha City without face, but if the army invaded, he would not care about face and entered the city. Changsha City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The year before last, it was attacked for more than 80 days. Teacher Ri, there is no way."

Zeng Tianyang said: "We must learn the lesson of the Western King's attack on Changsha, and this time we must find a way to lure Zeng Guofan, the poisonous snake, out of the cave." "Lead the snake out of the hole. Good idea!" Shi Xiangzhen appreciated this idea very much. Lin Shaozhang said: "The military is changing rapidly, and it is difficult to predict everything in advance. I think the strategy of taking Xiangtan from the side of the teacher can be implemented immediately. Emperor Guozong, let me bring 10,000 troops to take Xiangtan down!" "Okay! You are limited to take Xiangtan within seven days." Shi Xiangzhen resolutely agreed.He thought, if Zeng Guofan led troops to rescue Xiangtan, wouldn't the poisonous snake come out of its hole? The next day, Lin Shaozhang set off with ten thousand people.Xiao Xing all the way overnight, the title of a piece of rapid progress.When passing through Miluo Town, the green battalion chiefs stationed in the town had already fled.Lin Shaozhang did not stop at Miluo, but continued southward.On the night of the fourth day, the troops stayed in Qiaotou Town. In order not to disturb Changsha, we decided to turn westward the next day, cross the Xiangjiang River, and continue southward along the path.Thirty miles away from the county seat of Ningxiang, Lin Shaozhang asked a military commander to lead a surprise attack on Ningxiang with 3,000 people, and ordered that after the county seat was captured, they would be stationed in the city instead of rushing to Xiangtan.Lin Shaozhang led the remaining 7,000 people, crossed Jiji Mountain, advanced along the trail, crossed the Jin River, and entered Jiangshe City.On the afternoon of the sixth day, it appeared at the foot of Xiangtan City as if it had fallen from the sky.Cui Zongguang was guarding the right battalion of the Changsha Association. He never dreamed that the Western Expeditionary Army would cross Changsha to attack Xiangtan.The 500 battalion soldiers were usually arrogant and lazy, and now they all climbed up to the top of the wall in a panic.How could these five hundred young soldiers be the opponents of the seven thousand conquests from Hunan? By the time the lanterns were held, the city of Xiangtan would change hands. At the same time that Xiangtan was captured, Shi Xiangzhen led a brigade to go south from Yuezhou and quickly took back Xiangyin. The news of Xiangtan's fall spread to Changsha, and Luo Bingzhang hurried to Shuiluzhou Tuoku and asked Zeng Guofan to send him to take it back.Zeng Guofan thought otherwise.He thought that since the Hunan army had divided up and occupied Xiangtan, the north must be empty of troops, so it would be better to take this opportunity to rush over, cross Dongting Lake, and rush to the city of Wuchang.Saving Wuchang is a major event that the emperor has repeatedly emphasized in his edicts. Hunan's Changmao is strong, so let Luo and Bao deal with it.If the rescue of Wuchang is successful, this credit will shake the world.He put forward the idea of ​​going north, and discussed it with the advisers around him, some were in favor of it, and some were against it.The strongest opponent was Wang Kaiyun, a student of Dongzhou Academy who came to Changsha by boat from Hengzhou City.After Wang Kai was transported to Changsha, he immediately went to Yuelu Academy to meet friends, and only a few days ago he came to Zeng Guofan's boat again.He said to Zeng Guofan: "Rushing out of Dongting and rescuing Wuchang is naturally the purpose of Ming Gong's army, but this strategy is not suitable at present. Xiangyong was defeated at the beginning, and the army's prestige has not yet recovered. It is true that it is good if we can rush out this time. I'm afraid I won't be able to rush out. I was intercepted by the long hairs in Yuezhou, and then blocked by the rebels who occupied Xiangtan. .If you make a mistake, you can retreat to Hengzhou Prefecture, and you can still advance with Xu Tu. If you go south or north, I hope Minggong think twice." Chen Shijie also said: "Wang Renqiu's words are very true. I heard people say that Lin Shaozhang, the leader of the bandits who occupied Xiangtan, was brave and reckless. Our army will attack desperately, and Xiangtan will be conquered." Ta, Luo, Peng and others all agreed with Wang Kaiyun's analysis.So Zeng Guofan sent Ta and Luo to lead the five battalions of Lu Yong, and Peng and Yang led the five battalions of Shui Yong to recover Xiangtan. A detailed report had already been made to the old battalion of the Zhengxiang Army stationed in Miluo Town, and Shi Xiangzhen called everyone to discuss it.Xiangzhen said: "Zeng Yaotou is old and cunning, and he doesn't leave Shuiluzhou, what should we do?" Zeng Tianyang said: "We must lure him out, choose a favorable place, and gather and annihilate him at once." Guoyu said: "Going more than a hundred miles to the south, about sixty miles away from Changsha City, there is a place called Jinggang, where the Wei River enters the mouth of the Xiangjiang River. Tongguan Mountain is deep and densely forested, it is convenient for ambushes, try to lure Zeng Yaotou here, and let him come and go." "How to attract him?" Shi Xiangzhen asked. Yes, how to lure the snake out of the hole?